34. Granny Jenkins
The first thing about Granny Jenkins is she was small, which was very handy when I was small, because she seemed very manageable.
The second thing about Granny Jenkins is she was soft. Her skin was soft and her manner was soft and her hair was always softly swooped up on her head.
The third thing about Granny Jenkins is she was fun. She would call me Amy-girl and being with her was like being on a little adventure.
Like the time we found the butterflies. I was 9 and we were walking back from the park near their Sacramento home, and I spotted a small, yellow, struggling butterfly. It had been hit by a car and it was kind of stunned, so I picked it up.
And then we found another.
And another.
I’m not sure what was happening that day in butterfly-land. Maybe they all decided to cross the street at the same time. But there they were all dazed and confused along the sidewalk trying to figure out what just happened.
So we picked them up and carried them along as you do with dazed and confused butterflies when you are 9. When we got back to the apartment Granny said “Why don’t we bring them inside, we can put them on the plants. I bet they would like that.”
What a fabulous idea! No one had ever let me put live butterflies in their house. So we put them around on the plants to rest, and we went on with other things.
And then we started to notice butterflies fluttering around the apartment. What a fabulously good time! I don’t remember how we got them out of the house, but I do remember the fun spontaneity and excitement of the day. And the crazy adventure of butterflies flying around the house.
Being with Granny Jenkins was safe. I don’t remember her ever raising her voice or criticizing me. She had a loving energy that made everything seem OK. She had a lightness that let you know she was WITH you and FOR you.
I think I’ll try to channel a bit more Granny-Jenkins-energy in my life. That sweet energy of picking up butterflies and putting them in your house. Simply because that seems like the most fun and silly thing to do.